Friction draft-rigging.



G.' K. BROOKS. FRIUTION DRAFT RIGGING.

`APP IOATION FILED FEB. 5, 1909.

L Patented Dec. '7, 1909.

INVENTOR 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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APPLIUATION FILED FEB. 5, 1.909.

U. K. BROOKS.

- EMOTION DRAFT RIGGING.

lll/f Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. K. BROOKS.

FRIGTION DRAFT RIGfGING.4

APPLIoATIoN FILED FEB. e, 1909.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

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WITNESSES STATES PATENT FICE.

CHESTER K. BROOKS, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 THE NATIONAL MALLEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

FRICTION DRAFT-HIGGING.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER K. BROOKS, of Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Chio, have invented a new and useful Friction Draft- Rigging, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view partly broken away of my improved draft-rigging, secured between the center sills of a car; Fig. 2 is a side view of the parts shown in Fig. 1 with the adjacent sill removed; Fig. 3 is a horizontal longitudinal section of the draft-rigging, on the irregular line III- III of Fig. G; Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an end elevation partly in section; Fig. 6 is a cross section on the line VI-VI of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section showing a modified construction of my device; Fig. 8 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7 and Fig. 9 is a vertical cross section on the line IX-IX of Fig. 7.

My invention relates to an improvement in friction draft-rigging', and among its advantages are thatit is very simple in construction; that it operates without bursting strain upon the parts and exerts forces in opposite directions upon the friction plate; it is provided with a quick releasing device, which also furnishes spring resistance, and its strength is such that it is not liable to be broken in use.

In the drawings, 2 represents the casing for the draft-rigging, which may be of general rectangular form, or otherwise, as desired. 3 is a spring or set of springs contained therein, acting upon a follower plate t, and serving as release springs. This follower bears upon friction plates 5, 5, which are contained within the casing and are preferably made of U-form in cross section, as shown in the cross section of Fig. 6. Inside these friction plates are link connectors 6, 6, and between these link connectors is a spring or set of springs 7.

8, 8 are series of links, preferably arranged in pairs, which are pivoted at their outer ends in slots 9, in the casing 2 by means of pivot pins 10 (each pivot pin being preferably common to two of the links) and at their inner ends are pivoted in slots 11 in the link connectors G, by means of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 5, 1909.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

Serial No. 476,197.

pivot pins 12, each of which may be com mon to two of the links, as shown in the drawing. These links extend through longitudinal slots in the friction plates 5, which are between the link' connectors and the casing. n

13 is the car coupler, having a yoke 1-l, which extends around the rear end 2 of the casing 2. The end of the coupler shank abuts againsta follower 15, which has a bearing on stops 16, on the draft sills 17, and this follower abuts against the ends of the friction plates 5, and against the spring 7. The end 2 of the casing has a bearing against rear stops 19, on the draft sills 17.

The operation of my device is as follows: During bufling, the shank of the coupler bearing upon the follower 15 forces rearwardly the friction plates 5 and at the same time compresses the springs 3 and 7. The initial pressure of the springs 7, acting upon the link connectors 6, 6, causes the links 8 to move into a somewhat inclined position, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby clamping the link connectors against the friction plates 5 and the latter against the side walls of the casing. The rear pressure exerted upon the plates 5 and through the springs 7, upon the connectors G, 6, instantly augments this clamping action to a very great degree by the friction which is set up between the plates 5 and the connectors. This frictional force tends to bring the links to a still more inclined position and the clamping friction continues up to the full limit of the capacity and motion of the draft-rigging, at which point the plates 5 are relieved of further pressure by the abutting of the follower 15 against the front end of the casing 2, which then transmits the residue of the buffing force through the stops 19 to the frame of the car. lVhen the bufling force is released from the coupler, the springs 7 react, and their pressure which has been contributing to the clamping action of the links is thereby reduced. At the instant of removal of the buffing force, no force remains to clamp the links except the residual pressure in the springs 7, which is not sufficient to prevent the` springs 3 from quickly returning the plates 5 to their initial position. When the compressed release spring 3 begins to return the friction plates to their normal position,

causes a certain amount of friction still to exist between the friction plates and the link plates. This friction now tends to return the links to their normal position, lifting the link plates away from their clamping action and thereby materially assisting the spring 3 and securing an almost unobstructed return of the friction plates.

During pulling the operation is similar to that above described, except that the stress being forward, the entire casing 2 moves forward instead of the follower l5 moving backward, but the effect upon the plates 5 and other friction elements is as above described. The motion of the plates 5 tends by friction to move the connectors and thus greatly increases the frictional clamping ac tion.

During draft, the forward motion of the coupler draws upon the yoke 14 and pulls the casing 2 forwardly, thus moving the outer ends of the links 8, which acting as toggles, draw the connectors 6 outwardly against thefriction plates 5, clamping the surfaces of the connectors against the friction plates and the friction plates against the surface of the casing, the friction plates meanwhile being held by the stops 16, and the springs 3 and 7 being compressed. 1When the strain of pulling is released from the draft-rigging, the springs react, and the spring 3 serves to furnish a quick release for the frictional surfaces.

In the modifications shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the construction is similar to that above described, except that the springs and the associated parts are somewhat differently arranged. The spring 3 is at the forward part of the casing 2a and bears at its rear end upon a stop S, which consists of a plate having a central opening through which the spring 7 passes. The forward end of the spring 3 bears against shoulders 5a on the friction plates 5, and the rear ends of the springs 7, which are arranged concentrically within the coil of the spring 3, bear against stops 6a on the connectors G.

The advantages of my invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The parts move longitudinally with the coupler by actual Contact therewith, and the actions above described will be found in service to be of great eiiiciency, the motion of the friction elements tending to increase the frictional resistance rather than to decrease it. The releasing action is very quick and positive, for the frictional forces cease as soon as the buiing and pulling force ceases.

Another feature of advantage of my invention arises from the reactive nature of the force exerted by the links, which pull outwardly upon the connectors 6 and inwardly upon the walls of the casing with equal and opposite forces, causing these walls and the connectors to clamp upon the friction plates between them. There is thus no bursting or crushing tendency upon the walls of the casing nor elsewhere than upon the flat frictional plates 6. Such crushing or bursting tendency is inherent with devices which operate by means of wedges or spreading mechanism.

VAnother advantage of my invention consists in the interposition of the springs between the friction-producing elements and the coupler from which the buffing and pulling force is derived, thus making it impossible to injure the friction elements by sudden shocks or to cause them to wedge and jam. The springs 7 are also of advantage in that they exert a uniformly increasing pressure upon the connectors throughout the entire range of motion of the draft-rigging, and this pressure is transmitted through the connectors to the links, which, by their clamping action, produce a uniformly increasing frictional resistance. This gives the eect of a high capacity spring without the attendant disadvantage of recoil.

The arrangement of the springs, and the form and arrangement of the interposed friction elements 5, which I have called friction plates, and of the other parts, may be varied within the scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A friction draft rigging having friction elements with friction surfaces longitudinal with the line of draft, a link connecting said elements and actuated in buffing and draft by motion of said elements relatively to each other, and spring mechanism.

2. A friction draft rigging having friction elements with friction surfaces longitudinal with the line of draft, a link connecting said elements and actuated in buffing and draft by motion of said elements relatively to each other, spring mechanism, and an interposed friction plate.

3. A friction draft rigging having longitudinally movable friction elements whose friction surfaces are longitudinal with the line of draft, springs opposing the motion of said elements, and a link connecting the said elements and drawing them together in buffing and draft.

4. A friction draft rigging having longitudinally movable friction elements whose friction surfaces are longitudinal with the line of draft, and one of which has a stop bearing on the car frame, a link connecting said elements and drawing them together in buiing and draft, and spring mechanism.

5. A friction draft rigging having, in combination with the longitudinally movable coupler, friction velements whose friction surfaces are longitudinal with the line of draft, a link connecting the same and an interposed friction plate independent of the coupler, and spring mechanism.

G. A friction draft rigging having, in combination with the longitudinally movable coupler, friction elements, whose friction surfaces are longitudinal with the line of draft, a link connecting the same and an interposed friction plate, stops on the carframe, acting respectively upon the interposed friction plate and upon the outer friction element, and spring mechanism.

7. A friction draft rigging having, in combination with the longitudinally movable coupler, friction elements, whose friction surfaces are longitudinal with the line of draft, a link connecting the same and an interposed friction plate, the outer friction element being fixed and the inner friction element movable with respect to motion at right angles to the line of draft, and spring mechanism.

S. A friction draft rigging having, in combination with the longitudinally movable coupler, friction elements whose friction surfaces are longitudinal with the .line of draft, a link connecting the same and an interposed friction plate movable lengthwise relatively to both of the friction elements, and spring mechanism.

9. A friction draft rigging having a casing, a friction element connected with the casing by a link, an interposed friction element, and a spring, said casing and friction elements having friction surfaces longitudinal with the line of draft. A

10. A friction draft-rigging having an outer friction element, internally projecting parallel links, connectors for the links on the same side of the center line of the rigging, an interposed friction element, said connectors also acting as friction elements in coperation with the interposed friction element and a spring, said friction elements having friction surfaces longitudinal with the line of draft.

11. A friction draft-rigging having a casing, a series of links, connectors for the links, interposed friction elements, and a spring contained between the connectors.

19.. A friction `draft-rigging having a casing, links, connectors for the links, friction elements interposed respectively between the connectors andthe casing, a spring acting upon the link connectors, and a second spring acting upon the interposed friction elements.

13. A draft-rigging having a casing, links, connectors for the links, friction plates, a draft spring, a releasing spring, a coupler, and a yoke bearing respectively upon the end of the casing and upon the draft spring and friction plates.

14. A friction draft-rigging having a friction plate, stationary and movable friction elements on opposite sides of the friction plate respectively, clamping connections between said stationary and movable surfaces, and springs acting respectively on the friction plate and the movable friction element.

15. A draft-rigging having a casing, links, connectors for the links, friction plates, springs acting respectively on the friction plates and on the connectors, a coupler, and a yoke bearing upon the end of the casing.

16.4 A draft-rigging' having a casing, links arranged in multiple series connected to the casing, connectors for the links, interposed friction plates, and a draft spring.

17. A friction draft-rigging comprising two connected friction elements and an interposed friction element, all of which extend longitudinally of the draft-rigging, and

a connection between the said connected friction elements adapted in both draft and buffing to clamp them upon the interposed friction element without bursting or crushing strain upon the outer elements themselves. 4

18. A friction draft-rigging, comprising a casing, friction elements connected, therewith and interposed friction elements, all of which extend longitudinally of the draftrigging, and connections between the said casing and the connected friction elements adapted to clamp them against the interposed friction elements in bufiing and draft, without bursting or crushing strain upon the casing.

19. A friction draft-rigging, comprising two connected friction elements and an interposed friction element, all of which extend longitudinally of the draft-rigging, and a connection bet-Ween the said connected friction elements adapted in bufing and draft to clamp them upon the interposed friction element without bursting or crushing strain upon the outer elements themselves, and springs acting respectively on one of the connected friction elements and on the interposed friction element.

20. A friction draft-rigging comprising a casing, friction elements connected therewith and interposed friction elements, all of which extend longitudinally of the draftrigging, connections between the said casing and the connected friction elements adapted to clamp them against the interposed friction elements in buiiing and draft, without bursting or crushing strain upon the casing, and springs act-ing respectively upon the said friction elements.

1n testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

CHESTER K. BROOKS. Witnesses:

HARRY E. OBR, J. H. REDHEAD. 

